He and Lero got to their feet and followed Joel and Christoff out. Thanks to the Drek, they would miss the evening meal, but Darren would starve himself to death to keep Aelanna and the humans safe.
Chapter 21
Planet Drypso
The week went by all too quickly. Darren slipped into Aelanna’s cabin as often as he could find the opportunity. The times he was on duty for the night-cycle, he spent the whole ‘night’ in Aelanna’s bed and she lived for those times.
But tomorrow they would land on Drypso. It was her last night with Darren. She dreaded saying goodbye to him; she wasn’t sure she could survive it.
He caressed and cuddled her more than they kissed. They hadn’t gone all the way; he said it was too risky, and she didn’t have contraception, nor did he. Their physiology was so alike that the risk of pregnancy was too great, and he vowed he’d never leave her in that position: with a youngling (his word) to care for, all alone on a strange planet with a husband she’d never met.
They snuggled under the covers. “Flare take it, I’ll miss you, Aelanna,” he muttered into her hair. “I’ll find a way for us to keep in touch.”
“If you’re sure we won’t be found out,” she replied doubtfully.
“I can’t bear not to know what’s happened to you.”
He kissed her then, and she lost herself in it, even while their hearts were breaking.
His wrist device pinged fifteen minutes before the end of the night cycle.
“I’d better go,” he said and hauled himself from the bed. Three minutes later, he was washed and dressed, his hair donein a neat bun.
“I’ll be outside in the corridor, and I’ll escort you to the diner for breakfast.” He kissed her cheek, then trailed his fingers along it, turned and went out. She sensed his agony at forcing himself away from her and she felt the same.
He clicked the door shut quietly behind him and she flopped back on her pillow, trying to hold back tears.
What would her lizard husband be like? What would her life be like? What would their children look like?She shivered; she couldn’t bear to dwell on it. She didn’t know what her future held, and hoped her close friends wouldn’t be separated from her. Without Darren, they were all she had.
They had packed and said goodbye to their cabins. It seemed ridiculous to feel emotional about a room, a transitory one which she had occupied only to be transported from A to B, but the fortnight’s journey seemed like a lifetime and the memories she locked in her heart would last as long: memories of her and Darren.Together.It felt like the end of an era.
They had landed on Drypso. She, Kora and Nayli stood hand-in-hand as the airlock ramp lowered, the other girls behind them. Darren and his brothers were with them; formal and distant, had what Nayli called their masks on. Surprisingly, Aelanna felt relief at that; it was hard enough to say goodbye, and both the girls and their secret lovers were forced to hide their emotions, and it helped.
The ramp lowered slowly and the first glimpse Aelanna got of Drypso was a hazy blue sky. She knew there was a welcoming committee outside waiting for them. As the space opened up, she saw a flat, nondescript landscape with a few huts on it. It reminded her of pictures she’d seen of the South Dakota desert, without the spectacular remains of mountains. The milky haze was caused by dust in the air.Disappointing.
“Is this it?” Nayli gasped.
“We’ve landed in the military base. They’ll take us to the city,” replied Kora.
But Aelanna wasn’t listening. She was focused on the line of Ohirin warriors standing to attention and the two officers coming forward to greet them. They had more gold braid on their uniforms. Behind her, a low voice prompted them forward, and they moved out of the airlock and down the ramp.
The two lizard men bowed. When they straightened, they clasped their hands behind them and their tails gently swished on the dusty ground.
“Welcome to Drypso, your future home. I’m Commander Trot and this is Brigadier Zittishk. Come and settle in. Tomorrow you will be presented with three suitors, and you will select the one you like the most.”
Aelanna swallowed and concentrated on keeping her face neutral. She didn’t want any lizard man as a husband. She hated reptiles. She didn’t even have one as a pet back on Earth. She flashed panicked glances at Kora and Nayli, but they were in shock too.How was she gonna survive this?
To her horror, Trot offered her his arm. She smiled weakly at him and took it.
This was their life now unless they could escape this nightmare, get off the planet.
The Brigadier took Nayli’s arm and the lizard welcoming committee escorted Kora and the rest of the girls. It was a short walk to the double doors in the biggest building,” the main one of the military base. She sensed the brothers walking behind their party, but she didn’t dare turn around to check.
Commander Trot had matched his stride to hers. She stole curious glances at him and hoped he was not one of her suitors. Judging by the wrinkles round his mouth and eyes, and his craggy blue skin, he was older.
“I’m not a suitor,” he said in a gravelly voice. He seemed to guess what she was thinking.Could they read minds?“The younger recruits need mates,” he told her. “Being older, before the younger generation of our females died, I’m blessed with a partner from my youth. We’ve been together forty-four years.”
Oh my God.
